At a glance:

What they wanted to do:

• Reduce costs associated with administration of multiple online accounts
• Better reflect the professionalism required by a high-tech financial service provider
• Reliably and efficiently manage large amounts of data

What they did:

• Launched Google Apps to integrate data flow for employees and staff
• “Boosted” productivity with Gmail and its built-in IM, chat, and calendar

What they accomplished:

• Dramatically cut costs, saving on hardware, IT time, and server upkeep
• Accurately and reliably accessed the right data when they needed it
• Freed time for users to do strategic work by minimising management, downtime, and productivity interruptions

Website:

• www.pinnfx.com

Business

Pinnacle FX, founded in 2010, provides cutting edge foreign exchange services to their high net worth customers across multiple industries and disciplines, priding themselves on their high performing and unique platform. Pinnacle FX have developed a reputation for high quality service with a transparent and flexible model that is unique within the marketplace.

Challenge

Pinnacle FX, a company built on innovation, saw some irony in the fact that their visionary foreign exchange trading business was shackled by the limitations of traditional email systems. Their varying email systems were challenged by the large amounts of data being used throughout the organisation, and costs were on the rise. “We needed a way to reduce costs and cut the time spent on administration,” states David Conner, Company Director.

Just as Pinnacle FX was beginning to reassess their email services, Cloud Adapt introduced a conversation around Google Apps. Realising the opportunity presented by an open, cloud-based productivity solution, Conner instantly saw the benefits that Google Apps could deliver to his company. Since he was already familiar with Gmail, he appreciated the ease and ongoing improvements at the core of Google’s products. And, though he looked at other hosted solutions, none of them offered him the reliability, stability, and ease that he trusted in Google products.
As a technology savvy company, Pinnacle FX also knew the importance of flexibility and openness in the technologies they provided to their teams. Specific needs varied with individual roles, and traditional email hosting providers did not address these needs.

Solution

All of these factors led Pinnacle FX to engage Cloud Adapt to move their email solution to the cloud leveraging the power of Google Apps. “Cloud Adapt’s commitment to customer service was one of the winning aspects of the decision,” recalls Conner. “We needed a partner that would stand by us – and with Cloud Adapt, they do.” The company started with a transition to Gmail as an email solution, and was up and running in no time. “Installation and set-up took Cloud Adapt about half a day or even less, followed by comprehensive tailored training” states Conner. Pinnacle FX credit the built-in search capabilities in Gmail and all Google Apps with helping team members find information fast, no matter where it exists in the organisation saving hours per day.

Benefits

Google Apps has proven to be a huge success at Pinnacle FX. The Pinnacle FX team loves keeping track of the money and hours saved by their hosted, hassle-free solution. Working across multiple platforms and devices, saving hours of downtime and lost productivity, and reducing actual and expected hardware and software expenses by $8-10K – along with giving team members and clients the open, secure collaboration they need – makes Pinnacle FX glad to have made the switch to Google Apps.